At least thirty U.S. Naval Academy employees are being tested after Navy officials found mercury vapor levels four times higher than federal health standards in the building where the employees worked.
An inspection of Halligan Hall, which was found to have mercury during renovations in 2006, showed mercury vapor levels between 1,000 and 4,500 nanograms of per cubic meter, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) standard is 1,000 ng/cubic meter.
“The Navy takes seriously the health and well being of all its employees,” Deb Goode, spokeswoman for the Naval Academy, said in an e-mailed statement. “Therefore, the Navy is ordering air-quality testing of the remainder of Halligan Hall, arranging for follow-up actions to identify the source of the mercury vapor and clean the affected area.”
Academy officials said the mercury was cleared during the 2006 renovations, and no actual mercury has been discovered, though officials are looking for the source.
The vapor was found on the north end of the first floor, and only 30 of the 170 employees within the building have been moved to a temporary location, academy officials said.
The employees were notified Friday, and offered medical screening. No one has reported any health complications to the Navy, academy officials said.
Prolonged exposure to low-level mercury vapors can damage the lining of the mouth and lungs; higher levels can cause kidney, stomach and brain damage, according to the CDC Web site.
Halligan Hall was built in 1903, and houses office staff for the academy. The building is not used to house or teach any of the 4,300 midshipmen studying at the academy, officials said.
Though the academy closed off the section of the building where actual mercury was found during the 2006 renovations, the area where mercury vapors were found remains open but is being ventilated, officials said.
Academy officials noted the vapor levels found at Halligan Hall were far below those approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which are 100 times higher than the CDC standards.
